Pumpkin Pie

I developed this recipe, both the crust and filling, for my undergrad honors project. Wednesday, November 24th, I will be baking it for the listeners of Great Taste, which streams live weekly at 7 PM from http://www.kruufm.com It is also rebroadcast Fridays at 7 AM.

Mix together the 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 Tablespoons sugar. Cut in 13 Tablespoons of butter. Add the 1/4 cup of ice water and quickly work together with a fork. Switch to working with hands and as quickly as possible make the dough come together and knead briefly just until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Divide dough in half and on a lightly floured surface begin rolling out the dough. Roll it out until it forms a relatively even circle. To transfer the dough to the pie plate, fold it into quarters and position the inner corner at the center of the pie plate, then open to fill the pie plate. Form an edge by folding over or removing and/or repositioning any excess and pressing down with the side of your thumb to form a ribbed edge. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Cut 1-2 pumpkins in half and scoop out seeds. Put face down on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until tender. Approximately 45 minutes.

Scoop out the pumpkin from the skin and place in a bowl. Mash and blend with a fork. To the pumpkin add 2 (14 oz) cans of sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 tsp. each of ground ginger, ground cloves, salt, and grated nutmeg, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 beaten eggs. Mix well and pour half into each pie crust.

Bake the pies at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.